Received January 25, 2008
Accepted on June 10, 2008

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Statin Use Is Associated with Prolonged Survival of Renal Transplant Recipients

Franz Wiesbauer ^*, Georg Heinze , Christa Mitterbauer , Franz Harnoncourt , Walter H. Hörl , and Rainer Oberbauer ¹

*Departments of Cardiology, Core Unit of Medical Statistics and Informatics, and Department of Nephrology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, and Department of Nephrology, KH Elisabethinen, Linz, and Austrian Dialysis and Transplant Registry, Wels, Austria

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rainer.oberbauer{at}meduniwien.ac.at.

	Abstract

The efficacy of statins for the prevention of cardiovascular events is well established in the general population but remains unknown in renal transplant recipients. In this study, the association of statin use with patient and graft survival was investigated in a cohort of 2041 first-time recipients of renal allografts between 1990 and 2003. Multivariable Cox regression demonstrated that statin use was independently associated with lower mortality rates. Twelve-year survival rates were 73% for statin users and 64% for nonusers (P = 0.055). The adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality associated with statin use was 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.86). Graft survival rates during the same time period were 76% for statin users and 70% for nonusers (P = 0.055). The adjusted hazard ratio for graft survival associated with statin use was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.55 to 1.04). Results from marginal structural models were virtually identical. In summary, statin use was associated with prolonged patient survival, but no difference in graft was detected. Although these results are encouraging, a definitive causal relationship can be determined only from randomized clinical trials.